Riad Granvilier

The location of the Riyadh Grand Villa is excellent, right in the heart of the Medina and convenient for exploring Marrakech. The rest of my stay didn’t match the price or the reviews. After a long flight and finding my way through the Medina, I rang the bell several times and waited about 15 minutes. The staff member who eventually answered was carrying shopping bags, didn’t really apologize, and seemed quite unwell. My ground-floor room was beside reception and the common areas. The design was reasonably nice, but the room felt boxed in: its window opened directly onto the communal dining area, so there was little privacy or quiet. The riad seemed almost empty apart from one other couple, but when I asked to move upstairs, I was told no because of “the plans,” with little explanation. The mattress was extremely hard and uncomfortable, and I slept very poorly. The worst issue was the shower. Hot water pressure was almost nonexistent, just a trickle, so I had to take a cold shower. When I mentioned it, I was told “hot water doesn’t really work anywhere in the Medina.” That wasn’t true: other guests said theirs worked perfectly, and my bathroom sink had hot water too. I asked if the shower could be fixed or if I could change rooms, but the response was basically “nothing I can do.” I also asked to speak to the owner or manager and was told they were travelling. Customer service was disappointing, with no real effort to solve the problems or make me feel welcome. For around €75 a night, I think there are much better options in Marrakech. Later, I stayed in a private hostel room for half the price and had a significantly better experience. Great location, but the poor service, uncomfortable room, and lack of response made this a disappointing stay. I’d choose somewhere else next time.